Hancock's Half Hour. Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock (Tony Hancock). Copyright: BBC
Hancock's Half Hour

Hancock's Half Hour

  • TV sitcom
  • BBC One
  • 1956 - 1961
  • 63 episodes (7 series)

Tony Hancock stars in Galton & Simpson's comic masterpiece, with his delusions of grandeur and acquaintances at the root of his every downfall. Also features Sid James, Kenneth Williams, James Bulloch, Johnny Vyvyan, Alec Bregonzi and more.

Hancock's Half Hour. Image shows from L to R: Sidney Balmoral James (Sid James), Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock (Tony Hancock). Copyright: BBC

Key details

Genre
Sitcom
Broadcast
1956 - 1961
Channel
BBC One
Episodes
63 (7 series)
Stars
Tony Hancock, Sid James, Kenneth Williams, James Bulloch, Johnny Vyvyan, Alec Bregonzi, John Vere, Hugh Lloyd and Mario Fabrizi
Writers
Ray Galton and Alan Simpson
Director
Duncan Wood
Producer
Duncan Wood
Company

Welcome to 23 Railway Cuttings, East Cheam, residence of Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock - a down-at-heel comedian whose life never goes to plan.

Tony Hancock plays a fictionalised version of himself in this sitcom: a loser whose plans and aspirations are continually ruined by bad luck, the scheming and devious Sidney Balmoral James (played by Sid James) or, more often than not, by his own pomposity and ambition.

Additional details

Also known as
  • Hancock (Series 7)
  • Hancock's Forty-Three Minutes
Production
Studio
Camera set-up
Multi-camera
Picture
Black and white
Soundtrack
Music by Angela Morley.

Website links

Broadcast details

First broadcast
Friday 6th July 1956 at 8:45pm on BBC One
Most recent repeats
  • Sunday 30th July 2023 at 1:20am on BBC4 - Series 5, Episode 6
  • Tuesday 25th July 2023 at 8:00pm on BBC4 - Series 5, Episode 6
  • Sunday 23rd July 2023 at 12:35am on BBC4 - Series 3, Episode 11

Recording details

  • BBC Lime Grove - Series 1 and some of Series 3, all broadcast live.
  • Riverside Studios - Series 2 and some of Series 3, broadcast live. Series 4 part live and part recorded. Series 5 and 6 pre-recorded.
  • BBC Television Theatre - Hancock's Forty-Three Minutes special.
  • BBC Television Centre - Series 7, pre-recorded.

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